TU 1 21st century families in the UK Read the information about 2ist century families in the UK. What do the bold expressions mean? With a partner, say if the same is true in your country. ‘The nuclear family is no longer the norm. Because of ce ‘and people remarrying, many children live with wrents and have half-brothers or half-sisters, or prateenkon bet “Members of extended families no longer live close to cach other in the same town, but are very often spread out around the country or even abroad, so many people rarely see their relatives ‘One in four families is a single-parent family. According to a recent survey, 91% of single parents are women. Asa result, many children grow up today without a father figure Due to the fact that people are living longer, many more children have great-grandparents, or even great-great- grandparents. 2 Describing families Circle the right word or expression from the pair on the right. Tick the two sentences where both options ate possible. 1 He his mother. They have exactly the same sense of humour. takes after /looks like 2 Jack isa relative. Hes my father’s second cousin, far / distant 3 Shes child. She has no brothers or sisters a single / an only My sister and L are very. Were both cheerful and hard-working. alike / like 4 5 They area very family. They enjoy spending time together. close / near 6 ‘After their parents died, the rarely met. educated / brought up grew / grew up {grown / grown up relation / relationship, 7 His mother died when he was young. He was by his father. 8 My father wasa farmer so in the country, surrounded by animals, 9. My niece has alot recently. She’ now almost as tall as I am. 10 Thave avery good with my cousins. We see a lot of each other. 11s going to be a small wedding. Only few friends and 12 My _ originally came from Ireland. 3 Family idioms ‘Match to the idioms 1-8 to their meaning A-H. have been invited. relations / relatives ancestors / descendants 1 My sister is the black sheep of the family. A having very different opinions on the matter 2 My father dacsrit see eye to eye with my brother B_ making the decisions and telling her husband what to do about politics © not talking to each other 3 Myaunt and I are not on speaking terms, D Something happened in the past that they would 4 We usually have a family get-together at Christmas. prefer to keep secret 5 My sister-in-law wears the trousers in that marriage! E_ You are related to each other. 6 Red hair runs in the family. different from the rest ofthe family who dont 7 Most families have a skeleton in the cupboard approve of them 8 He’s your brother! How can you say that about G Several people in the family have it. your own flesh and blood? H_Weall meet in someone’ house for a meal Can you remember the words on this page? Test yourself or a partn Opa ‘MultiROM wwww.oup.conyelt/englishfile/advanced